Lyons: Does Sarasota really need 'Downtown Ambassadors?'

Published: Monday, July 21, 2014 at 6:03 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, July 21, 2014 at 6:03 p.m.

SARASOTA - When Sarasota’s police chief was hired 18 months ago, she portrayed her strength as developing creative solutions to law enforcement problems.

Bernadette DiPino said she prefers to reduce the need for arrests, when possible, by making changes at chronic trouble spots. That could involve better lighting, for instance, or zoning code changes, or anything that helps reduce crime.

A perfect example of DiPino’s approach has now been offered: The chief is urging city commissioners to make a few late-night Newtown businesses close hours earlier. She hopes this will much reduce the late-night gatherings nearby that sometimes include fights, drug deals, and sometimes worse.

At least one business owner is fighting the idea, insisting the problems aren’t that bad now and are caused by just a handful of bad actors. But whether Dipino gets her way or not, her problem-solving idea certainly fits the advertised approach that helped her get the job.

But can the same be said of the downtown “Volunteer Ambassador” program the chief is unveiling on Tuesday?

DiPino’s press release says that program will put 10 or 15 civilian volunteers in downtown Sarasota, on foot, wearing distinctive blue shirts. Their mission will be “answering questions” and generally being friendly to people while giving directions and such.

What, there was a problem with questions going unanswered by rude locals who refused to help?

This program seems odd, mainly because DiPino said just a few days ago that, despite warnings, her hands and head have been so full with urgent crime matters that she had not been able to pay attention to much else. That, she said, is why her department stumbled down the path to losing its state standards certification.

That’s a lame excuse to start with. Failing to meet state requirements in so many different ways was no short-term foulup. Falling short in 17 mandatory standards didn’t result from a few frantically busy weeks. The department’s failure to do such things as make required notifications to schools and day-care centers when sex offenders moved nearby, for instance, was a long-term failure. It required long-term decisions not to pay attention to such matters even when the chief’s staff was trying to bring them to her attention.

But she had time to launch a downtown ambassadors program, something that sounds more like the realm of a visitors bureau or downtown merchants association?

If there was a problem in the Five Points area caused by questions going unanswered, I had not heard of it. No cops were being burdened by cases of people going missing while unable to find the opera house. There are usually plenty of friendly people downtown who can answer questions of the “which way is the beach?” sort.

But what about trickier questions such as “Is downtown safe at night?” Is an official volunteer in a blue shirt likely to answer such questions more wisely and helpfully than, say, a shopkeeper, waitress or valet parking guy?

I asked the police department spokeswoman to have someone answer a few questions of mine about the training for this program. For instance, are volunteers told what to say if people ask about homeless people lying around in the park?

Oddly again, no helpful, friendly response arrived. The police spokeswoman asked me, via email, what I wanted to know. I told her. She never responded again.

Well, everyone working for the chief is probably really busy with all that crimefighting while also preparing for the gala press conference Tuesday morning where a dozen or so “Volunteer Ambassadors” will be introduced. The priorities are in focus, I’m sure.

The press release did say the volunteers also will serve as “an extra set of eyes and ears for the downtown area.” The “ambassadors” will have radios so they can call police when needed.

That will be great for all the people downtown who don’t have cell phones and are too shy to ask others to call 911 in an emergency. But mostly I have to think volunteers will just get a little exercise as they stroll around looking for people in need of answers.

I’m sure those volunteers will be really nice, but this looks like creative problem-solving without a problem.

Tom Lyons can be contacted at tom.lyons@heraldtribune.com or (941) 361-4964

<p><em>SARASOTA</em> - When Sarasota's police chief was hired 18 months ago, she portrayed her strength as developing creative solutions to law enforcement problems.</p><p>Bernadette DiPino said she prefers to reduce the need for arrests, when possible, by making changes at chronic trouble spots. That could involve better lighting, for instance, or zoning code changes, or anything that helps reduce crime.</p><p>A perfect example of DiPino's approach has now been offered: The chief is urging city commissioners to make a few late-night Newtown businesses close hours earlier. She hopes this will much reduce the late-night gatherings nearby that sometimes include fights, drug deals, and sometimes worse.</p><p>At least one business owner is fighting the idea, insisting the problems aren't that bad now and are caused by just a handful of bad actors. But whether Dipino gets her way or not, her problem-solving idea certainly fits the advertised approach that helped her get the job.</p><p>But can the same be said of the downtown “Volunteer Ambassador” program the chief is unveiling on Tuesday?</p><p>DiPino's press release says that program will put 10 or 15 civilian volunteers in downtown Sarasota, on foot, wearing distinctive blue shirts. Their mission will be “answering questions” and generally being friendly to people while giving directions and such.</p><p>What, there was a problem with questions going unanswered by rude locals who refused to help?</p><p>This program seems odd, mainly because DiPino said just a few days ago that, despite warnings, her hands and head have been so full with urgent crime matters that she had not been able to pay attention to much else. That, she said, is why her department stumbled down the path to losing its state standards certification.</p><p>That's a lame excuse to start with. Failing to meet state requirements in so many different ways was no short-term foulup. Falling short in 17 mandatory standards didn't result from a few frantically busy weeks. The department's failure to do such things as make required notifications to schools and day-care centers when sex offenders moved nearby, for instance, was a long-term failure. It required long-term decisions not to pay attention to such matters even when the chief's staff was trying to bring them to her attention.</p><p>But she had time to launch a downtown ambassadors program, something that sounds more like the realm of a visitors bureau or downtown merchants association?</p><p>If there was a problem in the Five Points area caused by questions going unanswered, I had not heard of it. No cops were being burdened by cases of people going missing while unable to find the opera house. There are usually plenty of friendly people downtown who can answer questions of the “which way is the beach?” sort.</p><p>But what about trickier questions such as “Is downtown safe at night?” Is an official volunteer in a blue shirt likely to answer such questions more wisely and helpfully than, say, a shopkeeper, waitress or valet parking guy? </p><p>I asked the police department spokeswoman to have someone answer a few questions of mine about the training for this program. For instance, are volunteers told what to say if people ask about homeless people lying around in the park?</p><p>Oddly again, no helpful, friendly response arrived. The police spokeswoman asked me, via email, what I wanted to know. I told her. She never responded again.</p><p>Well, everyone working for the chief is probably really busy with all that crimefighting while also preparing for the gala press conference Tuesday morning where a dozen or so “Volunteer Ambassadors” will be introduced. The priorities are in focus, I'm sure.</p><p>The press release did say the volunteers also will serve as “an extra set of eyes and ears for the downtown area.” The “ambassadors” will have radios so they can call police when needed.</p><p>That will be great for all the people downtown who don't have cell phones and are too shy to ask others to call 911 in an emergency. But mostly I have to think volunteers will just get a little exercise as they stroll around looking for people in need of answers.</p><p>I'm sure those volunteers will be really nice, but this looks like creative problem-solving without a problem.</p><p><i>Tom Lyons can be contacted at tom.lyons@heraldtribune.com or (941) 361-4964</i></p>